These better-than-the-bakery blueberry scones are bursting with juicy blueberries. They’re buttery and moist with crisp, crumbly edges and soft, flaky centers. Crunchy coarse sugar and creamy vanilla icing are the perfect finishing touches!
I originally published this recipe in 2014 and have since added new photos and a video tutorial.
Scones. You either love them or hate them. I used to fall in the latter category, passing on them in favor of muffins or quick breads. Scones can taste pretty dry, comparable to lackluster triangles of cardboard. No, thanks.
But my opinion on scones took a total 180 a few years ago when I attended a cooking event in the Panera Bread test kitchen. Turns out that I’ve been eating all the wrong scones because when done right, these sweet treats tiptoe into a world of pastry perfection.
Since then, I mastered chocolate chip scones, apple cinnamon scones, ham & cheese scones, cinnamon scones, lavender scones, and strawberry lemon scones. I use the same master scone recipe for each flavor, a formula promising the BEST scone texture. By the way, I wrote an entire post devoted to my favorite base scones recipe. Today we’re making blueberry scones, which is definitely my favorite scone flavor.
There’s no denying these are the best blueberry scones on the planet. Strong statement, right? Trust me.
One reader, Rich, commented: “Sally, I would like to say thank you! These pastries were awesome. I was expecting a dry and pale flavor that I usually get from scones. These blueberry scones absolutely melted in our mouths. I can’t say enough about the recipe. One word for these—AWESOME! I am going to try more of your recipes, and I’m sure I won’t be disappointed. ★★★★★“
These Blueberry Scones Have:
- Crisp, crumbly edges
- Soft, moist centers
- Crunchy golden brown exterior
- Buttery rich flavor
- An overflow of blueberries
- Mega vanilla icing drizzles
Let’s make them!
Blueberry Scone Ingredients
Nothing but basic ingredients coming together to produce something extraordinary. 🙂
- Flour: 2 cups of all-purpose flour is my standard amount, but set extra aside for the work surface and your hands.
- Sugar: I stick with around 1/2 cup of sugar for this scone dough. Feel free to slightly decrease, but keep in mind that the scone flavor and texture will slightly change.
- Baking Powder: Adds lift.
- Salt, Cinnamon, & Vanilla Extract: Add flavor.
- Cold Butter: Besides flour, cold butter is the main ingredient in blueberry scones. It adds flavor, flakiness, crisp edges, and rise. More on butter below!
- Heavy Cream: For the best-tasting pastries, use a thick liquid such as heavy cream. Buttermilk works too! For a nondairy option, try using full-fat canned coconut milk. Avoid thinner liquids such as milk or almond milk—you’ll be headed down a one-way street to dry, bland, and flat scones.
- Egg: Adds flavor, lift, and structure.
- Blueberries: For best results, use fresh blueberries. If you must use frozen, do not thaw.
Before baking, brush the scones with heavy cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar. These extras add a bakery-style crunch and beautiful golden sheen. Highly recommended!
Frozen Grated Butter
Frozen grated butter is key to blueberry scone success.
Like with pie crust, work the cold butter into the dry ingredients. The cold butter coats the flour. When the butter/flour crumbs melt as the scones bake, they release steam and pockets of air. These pockets add a flaky center, while keeping the edges crumbly, crunchy, and crisp. Refrigerated butter might melt in the dough as you work with it, but frozen butter will hold out until the oven. And the finer the pieces of cold butter, the less the scones spread and the quicker the butter mixes into the dry ingredients. Remember, you don’t want to over-work scone dough.
I recommend grating the frozen butter with a box grater.
How to Make Blueberry Scones
Blueberry scones are a quick and easy breakfast pastry recipe. Since there’s no yeast, they go from the mixing bowl to the oven relatively quickly. First, mix the dry ingredients together. You need flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Second, cut cold butter into the dry ingredients. You can use a pastry cutter, 2 forks, or your hands. A food processor works too, but it often overworks the scone dough. To avoid overly dense scones, work the dough as little as possible.
Next, whisk the wet ingredients together. You need heavy cream, 1 egg, and vanilla extract. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, add the blueberries, then gently mix together. Form the dough into a disc on the counter, then cut into 8 wedges.
One of my tricks: To obtain a flaky center and a crumbly exterior, scone dough must remain cold. Cold dough won’t over-spread, either. Therefore, I highly recommend you chill the shaped scones for at least 15 minutes prior to baking. You can even refrigerate overnight for a quick breakfast in the morning.
After that, bake the scones until golden brown.
The scones are fantastic warm out of the oven, but taste even better with a drizzle of vanilla icing on top. The icing is totally optional, but you should never pass up the chance to accessorize! It seeps down into the cracks and crevices, adding even more sweet flavor. A dusting of confectioners’ sugar or pat of homemade honey butter is tasty, too!
More Essential Breakfast Recipes
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My Favorite Blueberry Scones
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8 large scones
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These better-than-the-bakery blueberry scones are bursting with juicy blueberries. They’re buttery and moist with crisp, crumbly edges and soft, flaky centers. Read through the recipe before beginning. You can skip the chilling for 15 minutes prior to baking, but I highly recommend it to prevent the scones from over-spreading.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more for hands and work surface
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, frozen
- 1/2 cup (120ml) heavy cream (plus 2 Tbsp for brushing)
- 1 large egg
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 heaping cup (140g) fresh blueberries
- for topping: coarse sugar and vanilla icing
Instructions
- Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together in a large bowl. Grate the frozen butter using a box grater. Add it to the flour mixture and combine with a pastry cutter, 2 forks, or your fingers until the mixture comes together in pea-sized crumbs. See video for a closer look at the texture. Place in the refrigerator or freezer as you mix the wet ingredients together.
- Whisk 1/2 cup heavy cream, the egg, and vanilla extract together in a small bowl. Drizzle over the flour mixture, add the blueberries, then mix together until everything appears moistened.
- Pour onto the counter and, with floured hands, work the dough into a ball as best you can. Dough will be sticky. If it’s too sticky, add a little more flour. If it seems too dry, add 1–2 more Tablespoons heavy cream. Press into an 8-inch disc and, with a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut into 8 wedges.
- Brush scones with remaining heavy cream and, for extra crunch, sprinkle with coarse sugar. (You can do this before or after refrigerating in the next step.)
- Place scones on a plate or lined baking sheet (if your fridge has space!) and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. After refrigerating, arrange scones 2–3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 22–25 minutes or until golden brown around the edges and lightly browned on top. Remove from the oven and cool for a few minutes before topping with vanilla icing.
- Leftover iced or un-iced scones keep well at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Freeze Before Baking: Freeze scone dough wedges on a plate or baking sheet for 1 hour. Once relatively frozen, you can layer them in a freezer-friendly bag or container. Bake from frozen, adding a few minutes to the bake time. Or thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then bake as directed.
- Freeze After Baking: Freeze the baked and cooled scones before topping with icing. I usually freeze in a freezer-friendly bag or container. To thaw, leave out on the counter for a few hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Warm in the microwave for 30 seconds or on a baking sheet in a 300°F (149°C) oven for 10 minutes.
- Overnight Instructions: Prepare scones through step 4. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Continue with the recipe the following day.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowls | Box Grater | Pastry Cutter | Whisk | Silicone Spatula | Bench Scraper | Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Pastry Brush
- Blueberries: For best results, use fresh blueberries. If you must use frozen, do not thaw.
- Over-spreading: Start with very cold scone dough. Expect some spread, but if the scones are over-spreading as they bake, remove from the oven and use a spatula to press back into shape, then return to the oven to finish baking.
Reader Comments and Reviews
This is the best scones I’ve ever had! I’ve made this basic recipe in lemon-blueberry, cherry almond and apple cinnamon. All of them turned out great. Thank you for this easy, delicious recipe!
Hi Sally
We have fresh rasberries fromour yard, Can I substitute them for the blueberries/
thanks
Hi Steve! Yes, absolutely. And here’s our base scone recipe as well – you can try lots of different mix-ins 🙂
thank you so much
I can’t wait to try this recipe using the blueberries from my garden. I’m wondering, can I substitute whole fat buttermilk for that heavy cream? I have both, but I’d like to use buttermilk if it’s possible.
Hi Jill, buttermilk works great here – happy baking!
The BEST recipe I’ve fouund to date for blueberry scones. They take a little extra time to prepare with the frozen grated butter, but it is TOTALLY worth it.
Love this recipe and made it several times. I’m doing a big brunch and thought I’d include these scones. Can I refrigerate for three nights before baking or should I freeze before baking if longer than one night.
Hi Joan! We would follow the freezing instructions for three nights. Hope they’re a hit!
I’m never baking muffins again! Made a batch 2 days in a row! Hehe so delicious. My newborn has been fussy so I’ve been baking late in the evening with her strapped close on my chest for snuggles. This recipe is seriously the best.
I’m curious why the brown sugar is mixed with the wet ingredients for the chocolate chip scones, but for the blueberry, the granulated sugar is mixed with the dry? I’m demonstrating this for my students and want to have the reasoning for this. Thank you:)
Hi Maura, thank you for using my recipe! Brown sugar is a little more difficult to thoroughly mix with dry ingredients since it’s a little moist. You certainly CAN because you’re cutting the butter in anyway, but I find it’s just easier to mix with the wet.
easiest and best scone recipe I’ve ever made!
Hello,
I need some help my dough doesnt overspread ,but my dilemma started when I poured the frozen blueberries (unthawed) and makes.my dough purple. It just mush when I mixed it with flour. Don’t know what did I do wrong that I cannot achieve unpurpled scone.
Hi Astrid, Fresh berries are easier to mix in the dough but frozen berries definitely work too. With frozen berries do not thaw them but your dough will still be be more purple. We find the scones don’t spread as much when you use fresh. Adding a little extra flour to the dough can help as well, such as an extra 2 Tablespoons.
The best scones, moist and delicious
These are the best scones I have ever had! I have never baked scones before so was not sure how they would turn out. I followed your instructions and grated the frozen butter into my Pampered Chef Chillzanne bowl, which I had also stored in the freezer the night before with the butter. I grated the butter right into the cold bowl, then put it back into the freezer for another 10 minutes before mixing it with the flour. I first used a fork, then a pastry blender. I also made sure the blueberries were cold. I needed to add about 1 to 2 more tablespoons of heavy cream because it is very dry in Amarillo where I live. I refrigerated the batter once I patted it into a circle for 20 minutes, then took it out and brushed it with the heavy cream and sprinkled a little sugar on top. I cut 12 wedges and baked them for 20 minutes. They did not spread much and are beautifully browned and crisp when you bite them. They turned out perfectly , my family agrees, as does my 3 year old grandson!
My first time making scones and these were perfect!
The fact that even I could make this recipe for scones turn out delicious is a testament to the quality of this recipe. I don’t think my dough came together quite right, and will need to try again, but they were delicious anyway! I think my problem was that my butter wasn’t cold enough.
I’ve eaten two already, and they only came out of hte oven about ten minutes ago.
Thank you so much for this recipe was a huge delicious success!
These are the lightest fluffiest scones I have ever made in my life. Thank you!
I followed this recipe exactly and have been baking for many, many years. This is the stickiest dough I have ever tried to deal with. I’ve added lots of flour and still so sticky I cannot handle – tried parchment paper as suggested to lay it on and pat into shape, no luck. I am freezing it now and hoping all my ingredients are not wasted. I have not given up yet. I have made many of your recipies before and I am really disappointed.
This recipe was great. Followed it to the tee and that’s what counted. Thank you for the tip to freeze the butter and then add some more liquid at the end if the dough wasn’t exact. Worked awesome.
My first attempt at scones, and I did not do well with this recipe! I am not experienced with pastry methods, but my dough was so sticky. In my effort to add flour berries mushed and the dough is purple. Came out a bit dry, maybe due to added flour?
It sounds like your butter may have been too warm and started to melt into the dough. Make sure to keep the ingredients very cold. If the dough starts getting sticky while you’re working with it, let it chill in the fridge for 10 minutes or so before continuing.
I see a lot of you struggling with sticky dough. A way around that is to use wax paper, flour sheet turn the dough on it and flour the top of the dough and fold overwax paper then form the disc cut and transfer to parchment lined cookie sheet and then chill
Great new recipe and turned out delicious. I.placed them in the freezer for 15 minutes and they still over spread, so I will try for a little longer next time. Overall, great and will make again!
Just made your blueberry scones, super easy and we each had 2 for breakfast, I just remembered I didn’t add the egg….they were still delish…
This isn’t a great recipe. Still looking for the right scone recipe, nearly everything about this one is off. The scone come out like mutant biscuits.
Best recipe ever! I love these scones. They come out perfect every time. My only regret is not making them more often! Guess what we’re having with Easter breakfast?
Delicious!!! Best scones ever. I cooked mine at 300f in an air fryer and flipped them over halfway to brown the bottoms.
I attempted to make these scones and followed the recipe to the letter; however, the batter was extremely sticky. I added more flour as suggested, but it didn’t make any difference. I have no idea what went wrong. I placed them in the oven and they came out okay.
Hi John, It sounds like your butter may have been too warm and started to melt into the dough. Make sure to keep the ingredients very cold. If the dough starts getting sticky while you’re working with it, let it chill in the fridge for 10 minutes or so before continuing.
Hi! I just moved from the beach to Denver, CO and it has taken a TOLL on my bakes. Any advice on tweeks to make this recipe fit a high altitude? I’m eager to try it! Thank you
Hi Morgan! We wish we could help, but we have no experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
Hello. I’m a Colorado native and live in the foothills. I use the Hungarian high altitude flour. I find it at King Soopers. You can also add 2 tablespoons of flour for every cup. This varies with recipes and why it’s easier for me to buy the flour.
I followed the recipe except I used a cup to cut little round scones. I chilled the dough in the freezer for 10 minutes and then baked at 400⁰ for 14 minutes and they came out perfect! Super fluffy and the heavy cream on top was a great suggestion.
I followed the recipe exactly, weighing the ingredients, and the scones looked fine going into the oven, but they spread so much! I don’t think vanilla icing can save their appearance. I think I will add a little less liquid next time.
Tried this recipe for the first time. It was so easy to follow instructions, and turned out delicious. They were all gone in 2 days. I will be making more. So yummy. Thankyou for sharing this recipe. It’s going in my favorites.
Forget Panera these are so much better.
Can’t wait to try this recipe. One thing though, how many calories is it? If you know.
Hi Nicole, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076